Chapter 15: Field Trip

Danny Fenton was happy upon entering home. "Why're you so happy, Danny?" Maddie asked her son.

Danny showed her a paper. "Mom, my class is being offered a field trip to Tasty Taste Ice Cream Amity Park plant. I just need you or Dad to sign this so I can go."

"Sure thing, Danny." Maddie replied with a smile and started reading the document. Upon seeing nothing wrong with it, she signed it.

"Did somebody say "Tasty Taste Ice Cream"?" Jack asked as he came from the lab.

"Danny and his classmates are going to that company's local factory, Jack." Maddie answered while fearing Jack's reaction.

"Do they need a chaperone?" Jack eagerly asked. "Forget it, I'll ask Principal Ishiyama myself!" He then phoned her. "Principal Ishiyama? It's Jack Fenton! I've heard of the field trip and I'm wondering if I could be a chaperone?" Jack asked and waited for the Principal's reply. "Don't you think 'never' is too strong of a word?" He asked after she rejected him. She recalled a past incident as a reason to deny Jack the chaperone position. "The manager of that peanut butter factory overreacted." Jack argued and she gave a counter-argument. "I don't need to tell that to his niece. She was there, remember? She even… oh. Will you wait a minute, please?"

Jack then turned his attention to his wife. "Maddie, would you be a chaperone in my place?"

"Yes, dear." She answered.

"Did you hear that, Principal Ishiyama?" Jack asked in triumph.

"I'm so glad for not being in your class." Jazz told her brother.

That night, Danny was finishing his homework when a communicator the Justice League secretly gave him beeped. "Hello?"

"Batman here." The Dark Knight said. "I've heard about your field trip to Tasty Taste Ice Cream."

"What's wrong, Batman?" Danny asked while wondering why a field trip would matter to a superhero.

"I suspect that Benedict Wigglestein, the majority stockholder of Tasty Taste Ice Cream Company, plans something bad." Batman explained. "Keep an eye on him during the field trip."

"Yes, Sir." Danny replied.

In the next day, during school's lunch break, Danny was telling his friends about Batman's late night call. "Did he say anything about an autograph?" Tucker eagerly asked.

"Priorities, Tucker." Sam scolded her techno geek friend.

"So, what can you tell me about Benedict Wigglestein?" Danny asked.

Tucker then used his PDA to do a web search on Wigglestein. "Here it is!" Tucker exclaimed. "Benedict Wigglestein, born in England as Benedict Uno, lived there until his family moved to Cleveland to start a new life. His reason to change surnames is unknown but there are rumors that he resents his father for favoring his brother Montgomery Uno. He's the founder and CEO of Evil Adult Industries, Inc."

"Wait." Danny asked. "A company has "Evil" on its name?"

"It happens more often than you think, Danny." Tucker replied with a shrug. "Danville has Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated; Tremorton has Bryce Amalgamated Dynamics, B. A. D. for short…"

"I get it, Tucker." Danny interrupted him. "Will you please focus on Wigglestein?"

"Here's a picture of him." Tucker replied and showed a picture of Benedict Wigglestein.

Both Danny and Sam were shocked by what they saw him wearing. "Is this guy from Poindexter's time?" Sam asked.

"Must be." Danny agreed. "He kinda reminds me of those sitcom Dads from the Fifties."

"Probably a British thing." Tucker theorized and shrugged.

"So, what else belongs to Evil Adult Industries?" Danny asked.

"Besides being a major shareholder of Tasty Taste Ice Cream, Evil Adult Industries owns a skate park and look at that." Tucker said. "The original was destroyed by some vandals in the very same day it would have its grand opening. They also own a leisure center with pools, one of which was vandalized by kids in protest to their minimum age requirement."

"For a guy who makes ice cream, he doesn't seem to be popular with kids." Danny commented.

"No surprises there considering his ice cream truck drivers aren't allowed to sell ice cream to anyone other than adults." Tucker replied.

"Is Wigglestein afraid of being sued by parents of children who get sick from having too much ice cream?" Danny asked.

"Either that or the guy hates children." Sam replied.

'If that's the worst he does he's got nothing on Cree Lincoln.' Danny thought. "I still don't get why an entrepreneur would add things like "Evil" or "Bad" to their business." He commented, not wanting to think of Cree any longer.

"It attracts attention." Tucker said. "Albeit I remember hearing that the Bryce character who runs Bryce Amalgamated Dynamics was arrested for hiring thugs to prevent his competitors from delivering their products."

"He's bad indeed, Tucker." Danny said and then remembered something. "Ghost coming in 3, 2, 1…" His ghost sense activated.

"Beware!" The Box Ghost revealed himself. "I am the Box Ghost!"

"And I am bored by your presence, Boxy." Danny replied. "Just leave."

"Beware." The Box Ghost said and left.

"Danny, how did you know before…" Sam asked.

"He became too predictable after a while." Danny commented.

After classes were over, Mr. Falluca was leading students to the bus that'd take them to the ice cream factory. "Let's wait ten minutes until our chaperone arrives." He said. "If she doesn't come, we'll go without her."

'Please don't come. Please don't come.' Danny thought in horror.

To Danny's displeasure, his parents arrived. "I'm here!" Maddie said.

"Maddie, Danny, bring fudge." Jack asked.

"Look!" Kwan said with a mocking tone. "Fenton's Mom is the chaperone!" Some students laughed.

"Don't laugh." Valerie said. "She can protect us if a ghost attacks."

"That's what Phantom's for." Kwan argued.

"He's no hero!" Maddie and Valerie replied together. "Good girl." Maddie said. "If Danny didn't have a girlfriend, I'd encourage him to date you."

"Could we please just go, Mr. Falluca?" Danny asked.

One bus ride later, they arrived at the factory and were greeted by the man in person. "Welcome, students." He said. "My name is Benedict Wigglestein but you may call me 'Mr. Wigglestein'."

Some small laughter was heard as a result.

"Is this guy from Poindexter's time?" Paulina asked upon noticing his clothes.

"Must be." Kwan agreed. "He kinda reminds me of those sitcom Dads from the Fifties."

"Probably a British thing." Valerie theorized. "He does sound British to me."

Team Phantom was shocked by how that conversation was similar to one they just had.

"Please, come in." Wigglestein said. "I'm sure you'll find this experience… delightful."

"Did you see how it sounded when he said 'delightful'?" Danny asked his friends. "I don't like it."

"Yeah, it sounded like he's a megalomaniac trying to take over the world." Tucker replied.

"Don't stay behind the group." Mr. Falluca ordered them.

Inside the building, Wigglestein showed them a stand where there was a woman selling ice cream. "As a special treat, each one of you will get a free scoop." He announced and everyone cheered. "Nut-free, just in case someone here is allergic and we have soy options in case some of you are lactose-intolerant."

'Finally a reason to like this other than not attending classes.' Sam thought. As an ultra-recyclo vegetarian, she liked that option.

"It's official, Tucker." Danny told his techno geek friend. "He is afraid of being sued."

As the students and Maddie and Mr. Falluca started enjoying their scoops, Wigglestein addressed them again. "Now, while you're enjoying this, please follow me as I show you how we make ice cream." He led them to a place where the milk is being mixed. "In this room, the milk is being mixed to give the correct texture for the ice cream. The soy milk is being processed in another room to avoid potential mix-ups." He then noticed one of the students raising a hand. "Yes, Miss?"

"Mr. Wigglestein, how dare you smoke in this place?" Sam asked with a frown.

"I'm only using my pipe as a decoration, young lady." Mr. Wigglestein sternly replied. "It helps me look distinguished."

"It helps you look old." Sam grumbled but nobody heard her. Nobody who bothered let it known they heard her, at least.

"Now we'll go to the fudge room." Mr. Wigglestein announced and saw the chaperone raising her hand. "Any questions, Mrs. Fenton?" He asked.

"Mr. Wigglestein, will you be giving fudge samples?" Maddie asked.

"No, but you and the other visitors will have a chance to buy some after the trip is over, Mrs. Fenton." Wigglestein answered.

"Thank you, Mr. Wigglestein." Maddie said.

After leaving the fudge room, Benedict Wigglestein led them to a room that seemed to be a movie theater. "Now I'll present you an educational video." He said and the students groaned. "Still better than school." Tucker said.

Wigglestein ignored the comment. "Now please take your seats and wait while I go to the projection room."

At the room, he met five blue-eyed children wearing matching uniforms. "Is everything ready, children?" Wigglestein asked them.

"Yes, Father." The children said in unison. "But why are we delightfulizing teenagers?"

"There's only one teenager I plan to control and I believe he's among these students, children." Their father explained.

"Yes, Father." The children replied.

Benedict Wigglestein then started playing his movie. "3… 2… 1…" A blue flash delightfulized almost all visitors.

A few seconds earlier…

Danny and his friends were whispering among themselves. "So, any ideas on why Batman is worried about Wigglestein?" Sam asked them.

"I have no clue." Danny answered.

"That's Batman for you." Tucker commented. "Full of mysteries."

Because they weren't paying attention to the movie, they missed the delightfulization ray and didn't fall under Wigglestein's power. Looking around, they noticed something wrong with the other viewers' eyes. "What happened to them?" Sam asked.

"Unlike you, they paid attention to my movie." Wigglestein explained as he showed up with his children. "Daniel Fenton, come to me." He ordered.

"No way." He refused.

"Bring him to me, my delightful teenagers." He commanded while once again using the voice Tucker associated with 'a megalomaniac trying to take over the world' and the delightfulized teens obeyed him.

"What do want with me, Wigglestein?" Danny asked with a frown.

To Team Phantom's surprise, Benedict Wigglestein grew a dark shade around him. "You may call me… 'Father'."

"What?" Danny was outraged. "Another fruitloop wanting me to be his son? Get in line, Wigglestein, and stay away from my parents."

"Not that kind of father, you stupid teen." Father angrily shouted. "It's my codename. Everyone, friend or foe, calls me 'Father'."

"Ewww." Danny replied. "And why coming after us?"

"I don't care about the other teenagers unless they're willing to work for me." Father said while approaching Danny. "I only came here to delightfulize you, Danny Phantom." Father said, shocking not only Danny but also his friends.

End chapter.

Author's Note: Danville and Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated are from the cartoon series "Phineas and Ferb"; Tremorton is a town from "My Life as a Teenage Robot" and Bryce Amalgamated Dynamics is a company featured in the episode "Labor Day".

Answer to Leonardo (Guest): Concordo com o que você diz sobre os Fentons mas modere o linguajar. Apaguei seu comentário caso o site não aprove o uso da palavra com M.

Answer to Leonardo (Guest): Batman já deu sua bronca e os outros não se deslocariam só pra dar a deles.